Stop the Traffic 2 (2003)
The Australian – Op/Ed piece
‘Fulfilling the potential?’
Australian and international experts will gather at a two-day conference to be held in Melbourne this week to consider the subject of the trafficking of women into Australia for the purposes of prostitution. The timing of this event could hardly be better, following so closely as it does on the major package of counter-trafficking measures announced by the Australian Government only last week.
Recent ministerial pronouncements on this topic have articulated the government’s acknowledgement of the scale of trafficking for sexual exploitation within Australia and underlined the repugnance generated by the presence of this appalling form of modern day slavery within the borders of the country. The government has expressed an unequivocal determination to tackle the problem and given force to this determination with last week’s announcement of the new measures.
Within the context of an overall intention to ratify the benchmark international standards on this issue as defined in the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, the package is a comprehensive one that provides a core framework within which the essential components of a ‘whole of government’ response to trafficking for sexual exploitation can be developed.
Most importantly of all, the package includes a range of measures within three separate but intrinsically linked dimensions; comprehensive support measures that provide for proper treatment for victims of sex trafficking, with access to new visa arrangements and re-integration assistance for those amongst them that return to their source countries; the formation of a new AFP investigative unit, supported by closer inter-agency intelligence sharing links and access to specialist investigative techniques; and improvements to current legislation to properly prosecute and punish those that engage in this form of abuse.
The critical element of these initiatives is that they recognise the inter-dependency of them and in this respect, the package is following international best practice by acknowledging two key points. Firstly, that improved identification, investigation and successful prosecution of the sex traffickers to redress the levels impunity they currently enjoy must be one of the central themes of any effective medium-term strategy to combat the problem. Secondly, the challenge of creating new conditions within which trafficked victims can feel secure and confident enough to co-operate with the criminal justice system and testify against their exploiters is the most just and cost-effective way of delivering this arm of the strategy.
While the management of trafficking investigations and prosecutions is an enormously complex issue, the point here is quite simple - the ‘best-case’ evidence in any trafficking prosecution is always likely to come from the testimony of the victims. In this respect they represent the best potential trial asset available and yet, in many locations across the globe, this asset value is not being realised because of a reluctance and lack of commitment to provide proper support for these damaged victims to enable them to access their legal rights.
The evidence for this assertion is clear. This is a subject that has always been bedevilled by widely divergent data as to the overall numbers of victims – for example, a current UNICEF report states that over one million children are trafficked globally each year whereas the latest US Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report gives a figure of between 700-800,000 persons per annum. However, one statistical fact can be stated with certainty; whichever statistic is selected, less than one per cent of the chosen figure will have ever walked into a courtroom and testified against their abusers. If this statistic fails to tell us that our current response is inadequate, it is difficult to imagine which data would.
However, there are locations in the world, particularly in Europe and the United States, where the latest developments have proven to be effective and where the number of prosecutions based upon victim testimony has shown a significant increase. Wherever these developments have been implemented they share a number of characteristics in common; the law enforcement response is being constructed around specialist, highly trained units of designated investigators and prosecutors; the legislative instruments have been strengthened to provide an all-encompassing platform for victim treatment and prosecution of traffickers and: most importantly of all, the specialist units are working in the closest partnership with the victim support organisations in order to provide a comprehensive package of support measures.
The victim support package is founded upon immediate access to specialised treatment and counselling provided by local non-governmental victim support organisations. This is underpinned by access to temporary visa provisions to enable the victims to remain and co-operate with the criminal justice system in the country of exploitation. The specialist investigative units then work closely with the support organisations in what is a relationship built upon mutual trust
This partnership represents a ‘win-win’ equation where the two critical components of the response play to their specialised but complimentary strengths. The police investigate the crime in co-operation with the non-governmental organisations that provide specialised support for the victims. The overall outcome is that significantly more victims than before develop the resilience and belief in the criminal justice system to enable them to testify, which in turn has led to a demonstrable increase in the conviction and punishment of the traffickers.
This brings us back to the Australian context - so far so good. The government’s package finally recognises the problem and provides the overall core framework within which the key agencies in the combat of trafficking can develop the partnership approach to trafficked victims that has been proven to work so effectively in other parts of the world. The key issue now is whether the practical development of this new approach at the operational level will fulfil the potential of the framework provided by the government.
As has been the case elsewhere, the success of any strategy based upon victims becoming witnesses will ultimately depend upon the specialist skills and trust in the relationship developed between the investigative units and those organisations that provide front-line, face-on support to trafficked victims
By Paul Holmes Q.P.M. Consultant - Counter Trafficking & Law Enforcement Co-ordination
Paul Holmes is an internationally recognised expert in counter trafficking, child prostitution, paedophilia and the commercial sexual exploitation of human beings. His experience is founded upon 30 years operational police service with New Scotland Yard.
He is the keynote speaker at the Stop the Traffic 2 Conference to be held at RMIT campus on 23-24 October. For information call 03 9416 3401.
